1 GNU make NEWS -*-indented-text-*-
2 History of user-visible changes.
5 Copyright (C) 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
6 See the end for copying conditions.
8 All changes mentioned here are more fully described in the GNU make
9 manual, which is contained in this distribution as the file make.texinfo.
11 Please send GNU make bug reports to <bug-make@gnu.org>.
12 See the README file and the GNU make manual for details on sending bug
17 * A new feature exists: order-only prerequisites. These prerequisites
18 affect the order in which targets are built, but they do not impact
19 the rebuild/no-rebuild decision of their dependents. That is to say,
20 they allow you to require target B be built before target A, without
21 requiring that target A will always be rebuilt if target B is updated.
22 Patch for this feature provided by Greg McGary <greg@mcgary.org>.
24 * For compatibility with SysV make, GNU make now supports the peculiar
25 syntax $$@, $$(@D), and $$(@F) in the prerequisites list of a rule.
26 This syntax is only valid within explicit and static pattern rules: it
27 cannot be used in implicit (suffix or pattern) rules. Edouard G. Parmelan
28 <egp@free.fr> provided a patch implementing this feature; however, I
29 decided to implement it in a different way.
31 * The argument to the "ifdef" conditional is now expanded before it's
32 tested, so it can be a constructed variable name.
34 Similarly, the arguments to "export" (when not used in a variable
35 definition context) and "unexport" are also now expanded.
37 * A new function is defined: $(value ...). The argument to this
38 function is the _name_ of a variable. The result of the function is
39 the value of the variable, without having been expanded.
41 * A new function is defined: $(eval ...). The arguments to this
42 function should expand to makefile commands, which will then be
43 evaluated as if they had appeared in the makefile. In combination
44 with define/endef multiline variable definitions this is an extremely
45 powerful capability. The $(value ...) function is also sometimes
48 * A new built-in variable is defined, $(MAKEFILE_LIST). It contains a
49 list of each makefile GNU make has read, or started to read, in the
50 order in which they were encountered. So, the last filename in the
51 list when a makefile is just being read (before any includes) is the
52 name of the current makefile.
54 * A new built-in variable is defined: $(.VARIABLES). When it is
55 expanded it returns a complete list of variable names defined by all
56 makefiles at that moment.
58 * A new command-line option is defined, -B or --always-make. If
59 specified GNU make will consider all targets out-of-date even if they
60 would otherwise not be.
62 * The arguments to $(call ...) functions were being stored in $1, $2,
63 etc. as recursive variables, even though they are fully expanded
64 before assignment. This means that escaped dollar signs ($$ etc.)
65 were not behaving properly. Now the arguments are stored as simple
66 variables. This may mean that if you added extra escaping to your
67 $(call ...) function arguments you will need to undo it now.
69 * The variable invoked by $(call ...) can now be recursive: unlike other
70 variables it can reference itself and this will not produce an error
71 when it is used as the first argument to $(call ...) (but only then).
73 * New pseudo-target .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME, superseding the configure
74 option --disable-nsec-timestamps. You might need this if your build
75 process depends on tools like "cp -p" preserving time stamps, since
76 "cp -p" (right now) doesn't preserve the subsecond portion of a time
79 * Updated translations for French, Galician, German, Japanese, Korean,
80 and Russian. New translations for Croatian, Danish, Hebrew, and
83 * Updated internationalization support to Gettext 0.11.5.
84 GNU make now uses Gettext's "external" feature, and does not include
85 any internationalization code itself. Configure will search your
86 system for an existing implementation of GNU Gettext (only GNU Gettext
87 is acceptable) and use it if it exists. If not, NLS will be disabled.
88 See ABOUT-NLS for more information.
90 * Updated to autoconf 2.53 and automake 1.6.3. Users should not be
95 * .SECONDARY with no prerequisites now prevents any target from being
96 removed because make thinks it's an intermediate file, not just those
97 listed in the makefile.
99 * New configure option --disable-nsec-timestamps, but this was
100 superseded in later versions by the .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME pseudo-target.
104 * GNU make optionally supports internationalization and locales via the
105 GNU gettext (or local gettext if suitable) package. See the ABOUT-NLS
106 file for more information on configuring GNU make for NLS.
108 * Previously, GNU make quoted variables such as MAKEFLAGS and
109 MAKEOVERRIDES for proper parsing by the shell. This allowed them to
110 be used within make build scripts. However, using them there is not
111 proper behavior: they are meant to be passed to subshells via the
112 environment. Unfortunately the values were not quoted properly to be
113 passed through the environment. This meant that make didn't properly
114 pass some types of command line values to submakes.
116 With this version we change that behavior: now these variables are
117 quoted properly for passing through the environment, which is the
118 correct way to do it. If you previously used these variables
119 explicitly within a make rule you may need to re-examine your use for
120 correctness given this change.
122 * A new pseudo-target .NOTPARALLEL is available. If defined, the
123 current makefile is run serially regardless of the value of -j.
124 However, submakes are still eligible for parallel execution.
126 * The --debug option has changed: it now allows optional flags
127 controlling the amount and type of debugging output. By default only
128 a minimal amount information is generated, displaying the names of
129 "normal" targets (not makefiles) that were deemed out of date and in
130 need of being rebuilt.
132 Note that the -d option behaves as before: it takes no arguments and
133 all debugging information is generated.
135 * The `-p' (print database) output now includes filename and linenumber
136 information for variable definitions, to aid debugging.
138 * The wordlist function no longer reverses its arguments if the "start"
139 value is greater than the "end" value. If that's true, nothing is
142 * Hartmut Becker provided many updates for the VMS port of GNU make.
143 See the readme.vms file for more details.
147 * Two new functions, $(error ...) and $(warning ...) are available. The
148 former will cause make to fail and exit immediately upon expansion of
149 the function, with the text provided as the error message. The latter
150 causes the text provided to be printed as a warning message, but make
153 * A new function $(call ...) is available. This allows users to create
154 their own parameterized macros and invoke them later. Original
155 implementation of this function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys
158 * A new function $(if ...) is available. It provides if-then-else
159 capabilities in a builtin function. Original implementation of this
160 function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys <hanwen@cs.uu.nl>.
162 * Make defines a new variable, .LIBPATTERNS. This variable controls how
163 library dependency expansion (dependencies like ``-lfoo'') is performed.
165 * Make accepts CRLF sequences as well as traditional LF, for
166 compatibility with makefiles created on other operating systems.
168 * Make accepts a new option: -R, or --no-builtin-variables. This option
169 disables the definition of the rule-specific builtin variables (CC,
170 LD, AR, etc.). Specifying this option forces -r (--no-builtin-rules)
173 * A "job server" feature, suggested by Howard Chu <hyc@highlandsun.com>.
175 On systems that support POSIX pipe(2) semantics, GNU make can now pass
176 -jN options to submakes rather than forcing them all to use -j1. The
177 top make and all its sub-make processes use a pipe to communicate with
178 each other to ensure that no more than N jobs are started across all
179 makes. To get the old behavior of -j back, you can configure make
180 with the --disable-job-server option.
182 * The confusing term "dependency" has been replaced by the more accurate
183 and standard term "prerequisite", both in the manual and in all GNU make
186 * GNU make supports the "big archive" library format introduced in AIX 4.3.
188 * GNU make supports large files on AIX, HP-UX, and IRIX. These changes
189 were provided by Paul Eggert <eggert@twinsun.com>. (Large file
190 support for Solaris and Linux was introduced in 3.77, but the
191 configuration had issues: these have also been resolved).
193 * The Windows 95/98/NT (W32) version of GNU make now has native support
194 for the Cygnus Cygwin release B20.1 shell (bash).
196 * The GNU make regression test suite, long available separately "under
197 the table", has been integrated into the release. You can invoke it
198 by running "make check" in the distribution. Note that it requires
199 Perl (either Perl 4 or Perl 5) to run.
203 * Implement BSD make's "?=" variable assignment operator. The variable
204 is assigned the specified value only if that variable is not already
207 * Make defines a new variable, "CURDIR", to contain the current working
208 directory (after the -C option, if any, has been processed).
209 Modifying this variable has no effect on the operation of make.
211 * Make defines a new default RCS rule, for new-style master file
212 storage: ``% :: RCS/%'' (note no ``,v'' suffix).
214 Make defines new default rules for DOS-style C++ file naming
215 conventions, with ``.cpp'' suffixes. All the same rules as for
216 ``.cc'' and ``.C'' suffixes are provided, along with LINK.cpp and
217 COMPILE.cpp macros (which default to the same value as LINK.cc and
218 COMPILE.cc). Note CPPFLAGS is still C preprocessor flags! You should
219 use CXXFLAGS to change C++ compiler flags.
221 * A new feature, "target-specific variable values", has been added.
222 This is a large change so please see the appropriate sections of the
223 manual for full details. Briefly, syntax like this:
225 TARGET: VARIABLE = VALUE
227 defines VARIABLE as VALUE within the context of TARGET. This is
228 similar to SunOS make's "TARGET := VARIABLE = VALUE" feature. Note
229 that the assignment may be of any type, not just recursive, and that
230 the override keyword is available.
232 COMPATIBILITY: This new syntax means that if you have any rules where
233 the first or second dependency has an equal sign (=) in its name,
234 you'll have to escape them with a backslash: "foo : bar\=baz".
235 Further, if you have any dependencies which already contain "\=",
236 you'll have to escape both of them: "foo : bar\\\=baz".
238 * A new appendix listing the most common error and warning messages
239 generated by GNU make, with some explanation, has been added to the
240 GNU make User's Manual.
242 * Updates to the GNU make Customs library support (see README.customs).
244 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32),
245 and to the DOS port from Eli Zaretski (see README.DOS).
249 * Small (but serious) bug fix. Quick rollout to get into the GNU source CD.
253 * GNU make now uses automake to control Makefile.in generation. This
254 should make it more consistent with the GNU standards.
256 * VPATH functionality has been changed to incorporate the VPATH+ patch,
257 previously maintained by Paul Smith <psmith@baynetworks.com>. See the
260 * Make defines a new variable, `MAKECMDGOALS', to contain the goals that
261 were specified on the command line, if any. Modifying this variable
262 has no effect on the operation of make.
264 * A new function, `$(wordlist S,E,TEXT)', is available: it returns a
265 list of words from number S to number E (inclusive) of TEXT.
267 * Instead of an error, detection of future modification times gives a
268 warning and continues. The warning is repeated just before GNU make
269 exits, so it is less likely to be lost.
271 * Fix the $(basename) and $(suffix) functions so they only operate on
272 the last filename, not the entire string:
274 Command Old Result New Result
275 ------- ---------- ----------
277 $(basename a.b/c) a a.b/c
279 $(suffix a.b/c) b/c <empty>
281 * The $(strip) function now removes newlines as well as TABs and spaces.
283 * The $(shell) function now changes CRLF (\r\n) pairs to a space as well
286 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32).
288 * Eli Zaretskii has updated the port to 32-bit protected mode on MSDOS
289 and MS-Windows, building with the DJGPP v2 port of GNU C/C++ compiler
290 and utilities. See README.DOS for details, and direct all questions
291 concerning this port to Eli Zaretskii <eliz@is.elta.co.il> or DJ
292 Delorie <dj@delorie.com>.
294 * John W. Eaton has updated the VMS port to support libraries and VPATH.
298 * The directory messages printed by `-w' and implicitly in sub-makes,
299 are now omitted if Make runs no commands and has no other messages to print.
301 * Make now detects files that for whatever reason have modification times
302 in the future and gives an error. Files with such impossible timestamps
303 can result from unsynchronized clocks, or archived distributions
304 containing bogus timestamps; they confuse Make's dependency engine
307 * The new directive `sinclude' is now recognized as another name for
308 `-include', for compatibility with some other Makes.
310 * Aaron Digulla has contributed a port to AmigaDOS. See README.Amiga for
311 details, and direct all Amiga-related questions to <digulla@fh-konstanz.de>.
313 * Rob Tulloh of Tivoli Systems has contributed a port to Windows NT or 95.
314 See README.W32 for details, and direct all Windows-related questions to
315 <rob_tulloh@tivoli.com>.
319 * Converted to use Autoconf version 2, so `configure' has some new options.
320 See INSTALL for details.
322 * You can now send a SIGUSR1 signal to Make to toggle printing of debugging
323 output enabled by -d, at any time during the run.
327 * DJ Delorie has ported Make to MS-DOS using the GO32 extender.
328 He is maintaining the DOS port, not the GNU Make maintainer;
329 please direct bugs and questions for DOS to <djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>.
330 MS-DOS binaries are available for FTP from ftp.simtel.net in
331 /pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/.
333 * The `MAKEFLAGS' variable (in the environment or in a makefile) can now
334 contain variable definitions itself; these are treated just like
335 command-line variable definitions. Make will automatically insert any
336 variable definitions from the environment value of `MAKEFLAGS' or from
337 the command line, into the `MAKEFLAGS' value exported to children. The
338 `MAKEOVERRIDES' variable previously included in the value of `$(MAKE)'
339 for sub-makes is now included in `MAKEFLAGS' instead. As before, you can
340 reset `MAKEOVERRIDES' in your makefile to avoid putting all the variables
341 in the environment when its size is limited.
343 * If `.DELETE_ON_ERROR' appears as a target, Make will delete the target of
344 a rule if it has changed when its commands exit with a nonzero status,
345 just as when the commands get a signal.
347 * The automatic variable `$+' is new. It lists all the dependencies like
348 `$^', but preserves duplicates listed in the makefile. This is useful
349 for linking rules, where library files sometimes need to be listed twice
352 * You can now specify the `.IGNORE' and `.SILENT' special targets with
353 dependencies to limit their effects to those files. If a file appears as
354 a dependency of `.IGNORE', then errors will be ignored while running the
355 commands to update that file. Likewise if a file appears as a dependency
356 of `.SILENT', then the commands to update that file will not be printed
357 before they are run. (This change was made to conform to POSIX.2.)
361 * The automatic variables `$(@D)', `$(%D)', `$(*D)', `$(<D)', `$(?D)', and
362 `$(^D)' now omit the trailing slash from the directory name. (This change
363 was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
365 * The source distribution now includes the Info files for the Make manual.
366 There is no longer a separate distribution containing Info and DVI files.
368 * You can now set the variables `binprefix' and/or `manprefix' in
369 Makefile.in (or on the command line when installing) to install GNU make
370 under a name other than `make' (i.e., ``make binprefix=g install''
371 installs GNU make as `gmake').
373 * The built-in Texinfo rules use the new variables `TEXI2DVI_FLAGS' for
374 flags to the `texi2dvi' script, and `MAKEINFO_FLAGS' for flags to the
377 * The exit status of Make when it runs into errors is now 2 instead of 1.
378 The exit status is 1 only when using -q and some target is not up to date.
379 (This change was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
383 * It is no longer a fatal error to have a NUL character in a makefile.
384 You should never put a NUL in a makefile because it can have strange
385 results, but otherwise empty lines full of NULs (such as produced by
386 the `xmkmf' program) will always work fine.
388 * The error messages for nonexistent included makefiles now refer to the
389 makefile name and line number where the `include' appeared, so Emacs's
390 C-x ` command takes you there (in case it's a typo you need to fix).
394 * Implicit rule search for archive member references is now done in the
395 opposite order from previous versions: the whole target name `LIB(MEM)'
396 first, and just the member name and parentheses `(MEM)' second.
398 * Make now gives an error for an unterminated variable or function reference.
399 For example, `$(foo' with no matching `)' or `${bar' with no matching `}'.
401 * The new default variable `MAKE_VERSION' gives the version number of
402 Make, and a string describing the remote job support compiled in (if any).
403 Thus the value (in this release) is something like `3.69' or `3.69-Customs'.
405 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are no longer run with
406 a modified environment like target commands are. As in versions before
407 3.68, they now run with the environment that `make' started with. We
408 have reversed the change made in version 3.68 because it turned out to
409 cause a paradoxical situation in cases like:
411 export variable = $(shell echo value)
413 When Make attempted to put this variable in the environment for a target
414 command, it would try expand the value by running the shell command
415 `echo value'. In version 3.68, because it constructed an environment
416 for that shell command in the same way, Make would begin to go into an
417 infinite loop and then get a fatal error when it detected the loop.
419 * The commands given for `.DEFAULT' are now used for phony targets with no
424 * You can list several archive member names inside parenthesis:
425 `lib(mem1 mem2 mem3)' is equivalent to `lib(mem1) lib(mem2) lib(mem3)'.
427 * You can use wildcards inside archive member references. For example,
428 `lib(*.o)' expands to all existing members of `lib' whose names end in
429 `.o' (e.g. `lib(a.o) lib(b.o)'); `*.a(*.o)' expands to all such members
430 of all existing files whose names end in `.a' (e.g. `foo.a(a.o)
431 foo.a(b.o) bar.a(c.o) bar.a(d.o)'.
433 * A suffix rule `.X.a' now produces two pattern rules:
434 (%.o): %.X # Previous versions produced only this.
435 %.a: %.X # Now produces this as well, just like other suffixes.
437 * The new flag `--warn-undefined-variables' says to issue a warning message
438 whenever Make expands a reference to an undefined variable.
440 * The new `-include' directive is just like `include' except that there is
441 no error (not even a warning) for a nonexistent makefile.
443 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are now run with a
444 modified environment like target commands are, so you can use `export' et
445 al to set up variables for them. They used to run with the environment
446 that `make' started with.
450 * `make --version' (or `make -v') now exits immediately after printing
455 * Make now supports long-named members in `ar' archive files.
459 * Make now supports the `+=' syntax for a variable definition which appends
460 to the variable's previous value. See the section `Appending More Text
461 to Variables' in the manual for full details.
463 * The new option `--no-print-directory' inhibits the `-w' or
464 `--print-directory' feature. Make turns on `--print-directory'
465 automatically if you use `-C' or `--directory', and in sub-makes; some
466 users have found this behavior undesirable.
468 * The built-in implicit rules now support the alternative extension
469 `.txinfo' for Texinfo files, just like `.texinfo' and `.texi'.
473 * Make now uses a standard GNU `configure' script. See the new file
474 INSTALL for the new (and much simpler) installation procedure.
476 * There is now a shell script to build Make the first time, if you have no
477 other `make' program. `build.sh' is created by `configure'; see README.
479 * GNU Make now completely conforms to the POSIX.2 specification for `make'.
481 * Elements of the `$^' and `$?' automatic variables that are archive
482 member references now list only the member name, as in Unix and POSIX.2.
484 * You should no longer ever need to specify the `-w' switch, which prints
485 the current directory before and after Make runs. The `-C' switch to
486 change directory, and recursive use of Make, now set `-w' automatically.
488 * Multiple double-colon rules for the same target will no longer have their
489 commands run simultaneously under -j, as this could result in the two
490 commands trying to change the file at the same time and interfering with
493 * The `SHELL' variable is now never taken from the environment.
494 Each makefile that wants a shell other than the default (/bin/sh) must
495 set SHELL itself. SHELL is always exported to child processes.
496 This change was made for compatibility with POSIX.2.
498 * Make now accepts long options. There is now an informative usage message
499 that tells you what all the options are and what they do. Try `make --help'.
501 * There are two new directives: `export' and `unexport'. All variables are
502 no longer automatically put into the environments of the commands that
503 Make runs. Instead, only variables specified on the command line or in
504 the environment are exported by default. To export others, use:
506 or you can define variables with:
507 export VARIABLE = VALUE
509 export VARIABLE := VALUE
513 .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES:
514 to get the old behavior. See the node `Variables/Recursion' in the manual
515 for a full description.
517 * The commands from the `.DEFAULT' special target are only applied to
518 targets which have no rules at all, not all targets with no commands.
519 This change was made for compatibility with Unix make.
521 * All fatal error messages now contain `***', so they are easy to find in
524 * Dependency file names like `-lNAME' are now replaced with the actual file
525 name found, as with files found by normal directory search (VPATH).
526 The library file `libNAME.a' may now be found in the current directory,
527 which is checked before VPATH; the standard set of directories (/lib,
528 /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib) is now checked last.
529 See the node `Libraries/Search' in the manual for full details.
531 * A single `include' directive can now specify more than one makefile to
534 You can also use shell file name patterns in an `include' directive:
537 * The default directories to search for included makefiles, and for
538 libraries specified with `-lNAME', are now set by configuration.
540 * You can now use blanks as well as colons to separate the directories in a
541 search path for the `vpath' directive or the `VPATH' variable.
543 * You can now use variables and functions in the left hand side of a
544 variable assignment, as in "$(foo)bar = value".
546 * The `MAKE' variable is always defined as `$(MAKE_COMMAND) $(MAKEOVERRIDES)'.
547 The `MAKE_COMMAND' variable is now defined to the name with which make
550 * The built-in rules for C++ compilation now use the variables `$(CXX)' and
551 `$(CXXFLAGS)' instead of `$(C++)' and `$(C++FLAGS)'. The old names had
552 problems with shells that cannot have `+' in environment variable names.
554 * The value of a recursively expanded variable is now expanded when putting
555 it into the environment for child processes. This change was made for
556 compatibility with Unix make.
558 * A rule with no targets before the `:' is now accepted and ignored.
559 This change was made for compatibility with SunOS 4 make.
560 We do not recommend that you write your makefiles to take advantage of this.
562 * The `-I' switch can now be used in MAKEFLAGS, and are put there
563 automatically just like other switches.
567 * Built-in rules for C++ source files with the `.C' suffix.
568 We still recommend that you use `.cc' instead.
570 * If commands are given too many times for a single target,
571 the last set given is used, and a warning message is printed.
573 * Error messages about makefiles are in standard GNU error format,
574 so C-x ` in Emacs works on them.
576 * Dependencies of pattern rules which contain no % need not actually exist
577 if they can be created (just like dependencies which do have a %).
581 * A message is always printed when Make decides there is nothing to be done.
582 It used to be that no message was printed for top-level phony targets
583 (because "`phony' is up to date" isn't quite right). Now a different
584 message "Nothing to be done for `phony'" is printed in that case.
586 * Archives on AIX now supposedly work.
588 * When the commands specified for .DEFAULT are used to update a target,
589 the $< automatic variable is given the same value as $@ for that target.
590 This is how Unix make behaves, and this behavior is mandated by POSIX.2.
594 * The -n, -q, and -t options are not put in the `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAG'
595 variables while remaking makefiles, so recursive makes done while remaking
596 makefiles will behave properly.
598 * If the special target `.NOEXPORT' is specified in a makefile,
599 only variables that came from the environment and variables
600 defined on the command line are exported.
604 * Suffix rules may have dependencies (which are ignored).
608 * Dependencies of the form `-lLIB' are searched for as /usr/local/lib/libLIB.a
609 as well as libLIB.a in /usr/lib, /lib, the current directory, and VPATH.
613 * There is now a Unix man page for GNU Make. It is certainly not a replacement
614 for the Texinfo manual, but it documents the basic functionality and the
615 switches. For full documentation, you should still read the Texinfo manual.
616 Thanks to Dennis Morse of Stanford University for contributing the initial
619 * Variables which are defined by default (e.g., `CC') will no longer be put
620 into the environment for child processes. (If these variables are reset by the
621 environment, makefiles, or the command line, they will still go into the
624 * Makefiles which have commands but no dependencies (and thus are always
625 considered out of date and in need of remaking), will not be remade (if they
626 were being remade only because they were makefiles). This means that GNU
627 Make will no longer go into an infinite loop when fed the makefiles that
628 `imake' (necessary to build X Windows) produces.
630 * There is no longer a warning for using the `vpath' directive with an explicit
631 pathname (instead of a `%' pattern).
635 * When removing intermediate files, only one `rm' command line is printed,
636 listing all file names.
638 * There are now automatic variables `$(^D)', `$(^F)', `$(?D)', and `$(?F)'.
639 These are the directory-only and file-only versions of `$^' and `$?'.
641 * Library dependencies given as `-lNAME' will use "libNAME.a" in the current
642 directory if it exists.
644 * The automatic variable `$($/)' is no longer defined.
646 * Leading `+' characters on a command line make that line be executed even
647 under -n, -t, or -q (as if the line contained `$(MAKE)').
649 * For command lines containing `$(MAKE)', `${MAKE}', or leading `+' characters,
650 only those lines are executed, not their entire rules.
651 (This is how Unix make behaves for lines containing `$(MAKE)' or `${MAKE}'.)
655 * Filenames in rules will now have ~ and ~USER expanded.
657 * The `-p' output has been changed so it can be used as a makefile.
658 (All information that isn't specified by makefiles is prefaced with comment
663 * The % character can be quoted with backslash in implicit pattern rules,
664 static pattern rules, `vpath' directives, and `patsubst', `filter', and
665 `filter-out' functions. A warning is issued if a `vpath' directive's
666 pattern contains no %.
668 * The `wildcard' variable expansion function now expands ~ and ~USER.
670 * Messages indicating failed commands now contain the target name:
671 make: *** [target] Error 1
673 * The `-p' output format has been changed somewhat to look more like
674 makefile rules and to give all information that Make has about files.
680 * The `-l' switch with no argument removes any previous load-average limit.
682 * When the `-w' switch is in effect, and Make has updated makefiles,
683 it will write a `Leaving directory' messagfe before re-executing itself.
684 This makes the `directory change tracking' changes to Emacs's compilation
685 commands work properly.
689 * The automatic variable `$*' is now defined for explicit rules,
690 as it is in Unix make.
694 * The `-j' switch is now put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables when
695 specified without an argument (indicating infinite jobs).
696 The `-l' switch is not always put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables.
698 * Make no longer checks hashed directories after running commands.
699 The behavior implemented in 3.41 caused too much slowdown.
703 * A dependency is NOT considered newer than its dependent if
704 they have the same modification time. The behavior implemented
705 in 3.43 conflicts with RCS.
709 * Dependency loops are no longer fatal errors.
711 * A dependency is considered newer than its dependent if
712 they have the same modification time.
716 * The variables F77 and F77FLAGS are now set by default to $(FC) and
717 $(FFLAGS). Makefiles designed for System V make may use these variables in
718 explicit rules and expect them to be set. Unfortunately, there is no way to
719 make setting these affect the Fortran implicit rules unless FC and FFLAGS
720 are not used (and these are used by BSD make).
724 * Make now checks to see if its hashed directories are changed by commands.
725 Other makes that hash directories (Sun, 4.3 BSD) don't do this.
729 * The `shell' function no longer captures standard error output.
733 * A file beginning with a dot can be the default target if it also contains
734 a slash (e.g., `../bin/foo'). (Unix make allows this as well.)
738 * Archive member names are truncated to 15 characters.
740 * Yet more USG stuff.
742 * Minimal support for Microport System V (a 16-bit machine and a
743 brain-damaged compiler). This has even lower priority than other USG
744 support, so if it gets beyond trivial, I will take it out completely.
746 * Revamped default implicit rules (not much visible change).
748 * The -d and -p options can come from the environment.
752 * Improved support for USG and HPUX (hopefully).
754 * A variable reference like `$(foo:a=b)', if `a' contains a `%', is
755 equivalent to `$(patsubst a,b,$(foo))'.
757 * Defining .DEFAULT with no deps or commands clears its commands.
759 * New default implicit rules for .S (cpp, then as), and .sh (copy and make
760 executable). All default implicit rules that use cpp (even indirectly), use
765 * Giving the -j option with no arguments gives you infinite jobs.
769 * New option: "-l LOAD" says not to start any new jobs while others are
770 running if the load average is not below LOAD (a floating-point number).
772 * There is support in place for implementations of remote command execution
773 in Make. See the file remote.c.
777 * No more than 10 directories will be kept open at once.
778 (This number can be changed by redefining MAX_OPEN_DIRECTORIES in dir.c.)
782 * Archive files will have their modification times recorded before doing
783 anything that might change their modification times by updating an archive
788 * The `MAKELEVEL' variable is defined for use by makefiles.
792 * The recursion level indications in error messages are much shorter than
793 they were in version 3.14.
797 * Leading spaces before directives are ignored (as documented).
799 * Included makefiles can determine the default goal target.
800 (System V Make does it this way, so we are being compatible).
804 * Variables that are defaults built into Make will not be put in the
805 environment for children. This just saves some environment space and,
806 except under -e, will be transparent to sub-makes.
808 * Error messages from sub-makes will indicate the level of recursion.
810 * Hopefully some speed-up for large directories due to a change in the
811 directory hashing scheme.
813 * One child will always get a standard input that is usable.
815 * Default makefiles that don't exist will be remade and read in.
819 * Count parentheses inside expansion function calls so you can
820 have nested calls: `$(sort $(foreach x,a b,$(x)))'.
824 * Several bug fixes, including USG and Sun386i support.
826 * `shell' function to expand shell commands a la `
828 * If the `-d' flag is given, version information will be printed.
830 * The `-c' option has been renamed to `-C' for compatibility with tar.
832 * The `-p' option no longer inhibits other normal operation.
834 * Makefiles will be updated and re-read if necessary.
836 * Can now run several commands at once (parallelism), -j option.
838 * Error messages will contain the level of Make recursion, if any.
840 * The `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAGS' variables will be scanned for options after
843 * A double-colon rule with no dependencies will always have its commands run.
844 (This is how both the BSD and System V versions of Make do it.)
848 (Changes from versions 1 through 3.05 were never recorded. Sorry.)
850 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
851 Copyright information:
853 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
854 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
855 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved, thus
856 giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
858 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions of this
859 document, or of portions of it, under the above conditions, provided
860 also that they carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.